Juraviel again held aloft the emerald. "You have allies," he explained.
"There lives in To-gai, south of the mountains, a ranger trained by me, the warrior woman named Brynn Dharielle, who has risen to lead the To- gai-ru to freedom from their Behrenese oppressors. Even now, Aydrian has reached southward to Behren, and even now, my couriers are advising Brynn to oppose him."
"There's the first glimmer I heared in a bit," Bradwarden said hopefully, and he nudged Pony.
"With this gemstone, I can travel great distances in a short time,"
Juraviel explained, holding forth the emerald once more. "I can take few others with me, and so I will be of little help in moving armies or the like. But in securing a line of communication between those who would oppose Aydrian, and in scouting the movements of Aydrian's forces, we Touel'alfar are without equal."
Pony stared at him while she digested the information, and while the potential gain to her cause began to blossom in her thoughts. She had understood the desperation of her situation in coming to Vanguard in search of Prince Midalis. She knew that it was likely that Aydrian had already grown too strong to be supplanted by Midalis, even with her support.
But now this. Now the possibility of finding all the loose threads opposing Aydrian and weaving them into a single force... "I accept your apology, Belli'mar Juraviel," the woman remarked quietly.
"Help me. Help me make the world as it was."
"And help you to defeat your son?" the elf reasoned.
Those words stung Pony's sensibilities despite her logical agreement, and she knew not from where her response came, "Help me to save my son."
She saw the look of concern shared by Juraviel and Bradwarden at that curious reply, and she understood that look better than she understood her own reasoning.
Still, the woman did not back down from her impetuous statement.
For if she surrendered hope itself, there would remain nothing else.
Chapter 31 Lining Up
Aided by Aydrian's use of the gemstones, their journey had been swift, even against the cold winds of winter. Despite that, the returning soldiers and the king who led them were all relieved to see again the walls of Palmaris that cold and wintry day near the end of the second month of God's Year 847.
Riding before the column, the first thing Aydrian noticed was that the wall was manned by Ursal soldiers, his loyal Kingsmen. "Marcalo has held Palmaris strong, it would seem," the young king remarked to Sadye, who rode at his side.
"Could we have expected any less of him?" Sadye asked.
Aydrian slowed his mount and turned a suspicious glance at her.
"What?" Sadye prompted.
"You still love him."
Sadye looked back to Palmaris and gave a halfhearted shrug. "My respect for him has not diminished - should it have?"
Now it was Aydrian's turn to look ahead to the city and shrug.
"You've placed Marcalo in a position of great importance to the security and expansion of your kingdom," the woman went on. "Why?"
When Aydrian didn't immediately answer, she did it for him. "Because you know of his value. You even got Abbot Olin out of the way, because you understand that having Marcalo De'Unnero as the Father Abbot of the Abellican Church will ensure the security of the throne. He is no less ambitious than you - it is just that his ambitions are now more tightly focused."
"You still love him."
"If I do, it is because I still respect him and his ambitions. And so do you."
That last statement brought their gazes back together. "We have no room for jealousy here," Sadye said quietly to him. "Not from you, and not from Marcalo. Though, of course, you will hold so many of his desires as a great sword over his head that he will have no choice but to hide away any jealousy he might hold."
"If he has known Sadye as I have, he would have no greater desire than to hold her," Aydrian said, lowering his gaze to the road ahead.
Sadye's burst of laughter spun him about immediately.
"The words of a boy," the bard explained, and she continued to chuckle.
"Tell me, Aydrian Boudabras, who will rule all the world: would you give it all up? Would you forsake your plans and abdicate your kingdom if I asked it of you? I could promise you in exchange all the love you desire and more."
Aydrian just continued to stare at her, not sure how to react.
"Would you?" the woman demanded.
Again, when Aydrian didn't respond, Sadye answered